Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard speaks in Canberra

Post date: Jun 24, 2010 10:02:57 AM

Julia Gillard, first woman to lead Australia

Mr. Rudd has been replaced by Julia Gillard,

the first woman to lead the country.

The daughter of British migrants,

Ms. Gillard trained as a lawyer

before entering politics.

PM Julia Gillard

Afghanistan

Analysts believe Ms. Gillard might push for an early withdrawal of Australia's 1,550 troops from Afghanistan, in an effort to address voter discontent about the war.